fitness
Americannoun
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fitness
plural
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capability of the body of distributing inhaled oxygen to muscle tissue during increased physical effort.
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Also called Darwinian fitness. Biology.
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the genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation's gene pool relative to the average for the population, usually measured by the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive age.
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the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations.
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noun
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the state of being fit
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biology
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the degree of adaptation of an organism to its environment, determined by its genetic constitution
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the ability of an organism to produce viable offspring capable of surviving to the next generation
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Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of fitness
Explanation
Fitness is good physical condition. If you're a fitness nut and you're constantly working out, everybody else at the gym might be eyeing your sculpted muscles with envy and marveling at your stamina and strength. Fitness can also refer to your being fit, or qualified, for something. If you show up in ragged jeans and a dirty t-shirt to interview for a job in the clean room of a microchip factory, your interviewer might question your fitness for the position. For a ship, fitness is a measure of whether it's seaworthy. In biology, an organism's fitness for a particular environment is its ability to survive and reproduce in those conditions.
Vocabulary lists containing fitness
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Physical Education - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Offspring born to older mothers often live shorter lives, reproduce less, and have lower evolutionary fitness.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026
“You start to lose reactivity the moment you stop moving quickly,” says Trina Altman, a personal trainer and fitness writer based in the South Bay.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
If fitness centers, technology services, entertainment options and countless other amenities appear to operate without cost, comprehensive public provision elsewhere may seem practical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Earlier research cited by the researchers found that spending just a few minutes climbing stairs several times each week can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce cholesterol levels.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
Survivor cast doubts on fitness of crew but had nothing to say about officers.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
